PayPal Leaves BBM

A change has come.

You may have noticed something missing from the last update to BBM. PayPal has pulled their transfer ability from our favorite messaging app.

In an email sent out today, PayPal stated specifically:

“As a result of our research, we’ve decided to discontinue the ability to send money with PayPal using BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).”

PayPal joined the BBM family in the fall of 2015. It offered a secured, convenient way to transfer funds to your BBM contacts. It definitely helped the UTB crew a time or two as we collaborated on the transcontinental site. However, “research” showed the convenience wasn’t utilized enough.

When the last BBM update rolled out, this feature was conspicuously gone, leaving us to ponder its longevity. PayPal confirmed that today with the email stating it would end the service effective February 6, 2018. They kindly remind us of other apps that offer the feature for the concerned end user which includes the PayPal app, Skype, and PayPal.me.

Its always disheartening to see a useful feature be taken away. I have noticed that the integration of money transfers has increased over recent years. This could be another case of BBM being ahead of the curve, and consumers just not being ready to adopt the opportunities.